upgrading wireless router...suggestions?

[hulkster]

ive got a Linksys 802.11g/b router right now that ive had for 2-3 years and its worked flawlessly. ive been wanting to stream content to my xbox 360 and i noticed its a little laggy so i figure its time for an upgrade.

can anyone suggest a good upgrade router? ive been out of the loop for a while on the new technology and 802.xx stuff. ive heard about draft n, and mimo and all that, but not real sure what to get.

i will use this for: console gaming, streaming content, web surfing, etc.

[boykster]

If your primary goal is to upgrade the speed to your xbox360, then I doubt a new router will give you much boost unless you're using something OTHER than the MS branded xbox360 wireless adapter -> its a/b/g, so upgrading to n won't make a difference.

Otherwise, I've been very happy with my linksys WRT54G router running DD-WRT custom firmware.....My xbox360 is wired though

[hulkster]

If your primary goal is to upgrade the speed to your xbox360, then I doubt a new router will give you much boost unless you're using something OTHER than the MS branded xbox360 wireless adapter -> its a/b/g, so upgrading to n won't make a difference.

Otherwise, I've been very happy with my linksys WRT54G router running DD-WRT custom firmware.....My xbox360 is wired though

no im not looking to boost the speed of the xbox connection...although thats kinda what my post led you to believe.  i have the wireless adapter, but i thought it was n capable as well.  i had vista for a while so i was playing the with the media center stuff, but i had sound driver issues so i went back to xp.  i was just looking for a gigabit solution.  ill use this for pc gaming as well.

[dweebs0r]

Otherwise, I've been very happy with my linksys WRT54G router running DD-WRT custom firmware.....

I have a DD-WRT flashed router as well and it works perfectly for my little network.  My Xbox 360 is connected to the network wirelessly.

The only lag I get is because of a limitation of my crappy ISP and not my router.

-D

[ChadTower]

If your primary goal is to upgrade the speed to your xbox360, then I doubt a new router will give you much boost unless you're using something OTHER than the MS branded xbox360 wireless adapter -> its a/b/g, so upgrading to n won't make a difference.

Otherwise, I've been very happy with my linksys WRT54G router running DD-WRT custom firmware.....

1)  I fully agree with boykster... you're not likely going to see a speed increase just by changing the chipset but running all the same protocols.

2)  The specific setup boykster is saying he has is good... very versatile.  I know a few people running that hardware with DD-WRT.  Can't remember if DD-WRT is open source or not.

[SavannahLion]

I thought "N" routers leverage more than one channel in a already crowded spectrum? Last I checked, if you've got an N router in the same proximity as a couple of G routers, these routers get conflicts. Either the routers "settle" down, or you get an armament race where the owners  are going to be swapping routers jockeying for the favored channels.

In any case, your slow down might also be caused by other factors. I can pick up two or three other routers and I've swapped their channels around (always put a password on your router!!  ) to avoid conflicts with mine. I also recently discovered the microwave sends out a mess of signals on the exact frequency my router uses, causing slowing down or a complete loss of signal. 

[hulkster]

so then maybe in order to achieve wireless, and faster speeds on my pc....id be better off running a gigabit wired switch to my pc, and hook the wireless router to my switch and just let my ds and 360 mooch off that.  sound good?

[ChadTower]

Why exactly do you need that type of speed?  Gigabit in home use?     Do you plan on buying enough ISP bandwidth to actually use that?

[AtomSmasher]

I've been very happy with my Buffalo WHR-G125 router which I got for $45 about 6 months ago (and it is DD-WRT compatible, although I'm using the stock bios).  At the time it was easily the best router for the money and had a noticable speedboost for wireless connections over my old router.  Unfortunately a quick check online and it seems Buffalo is being sued and is currently not allowed to sell 802.11a and 802.11g routers, so I guess this isn't really useful advice since you can't buy the router until the courts are settled

[hulkster]

Why exactly do you need that type of speed?  Gigabit in home use?     Do you plan on buying enough ISP bandwidth to actually use that?

downloads, transfers, and i will eventually be doing movie streaming from a home server to a media center pc in hd....so i need the throughput.  i dont have any significant use for it RIGHT NOW, but i will in about a years time probably.  hence the questions 

[ChadTower]

I don't think any of that needs anything like a gigabit network.  You can stream most video very easily and cleanly with standard wired speeds right now.

boykster, you're probably the one here with the most elaborate streaming setup.  I don't seem to recall your going with gigabit... are you using that or more usual speeds?

gigabit isn't going to do anything to your internet access speeds unless you're looking at a seriously expensive dedicated business line.

[shmokes]

Hell, even a 30 Mb fiber connection from Verizon's FIOS won't saturate a 100 Mb ethernet connection.  But, personally, I'd love to have a gigabit network.  I do a lot of file transferring of very large files.  I rip media to my PC and check it all there to make sure the quality is fine and the audio and video sync up, then I push it all over to my media server.  I also bittorrent a lot of stuff and it downloads to a folder on my PC.  I've always got new things coming in that I then push over to my media server.  Currently I have to transfer it wirelessly cos running wire in my new place is unfeasible.  It's slow as molasses.

Also, I'm quite sure Boykster is running gigabit . . . maybe even 10 Gb/sec.

[boykster]

I don't think any of that needs anything like a gigabit network.  You can stream most video very easily and cleanly with standard wired speeds right now.

boykster, you're probably the one here with the most elaborate streaming setup.  I don't seem to recall your going with gigabit... are you using that or more usual speeds?

gigabit isn't going to do anything to your internet access speeds unless you're looking at a seriously expensive dedicated business line.

I agree totally with Chad here;  I DO have gigabit (copper not fiber) in my house end to end for all my computers now over Cat5e or Cat6 (depending on what part of the house).  I don't need it for video playback though; even with 100Mb I could simultaenously play 4 dvd streams to 4 different computers with zero issues.  HD content is a bit more contentious on bandwidth since it's 4-5x the data load, but still if your needs are modest 100mb is fine.  I've been toying with upgrading my 2 HTPC's for Bluray / HD-DVD playback over the network from my fileservers but even with that gigabit is "nice" but not necessary.  The main speed advantage I see is when I'm ripping my dvd's across the network from my workstation to a storage array on the fileserver; there I definately see a speed advantage since the upgrade to gigE.

Even the new wireless standards will not even come close to 100Mb speeds for continuous throughput.  You might see burst speed increases though.  And yep, unless you're either uber-rich with connections, or direct wired to one of the few universities/institutes a part of the "internet2" project, you won't be able to saturate your 100Mb connection with your internet connection.

Oh, and I would HIGHLY recommend the DD-WRT firmware for anyone running a compatible router.  It's the shiznit.

[hulkster]

okay...kinda on topic here....i found this http://promotions.newegg.com/microsoft/buylocal/index.html and its the promo that newegg has been running for like a year or so with vista.  basically, you buy vista, and then activate it, and then you get codes to redeem for the "bonus pack" stuff.  big whoop right? well one of the items is a dlink dgl-4300 gaming router.  ive read reviews and apparently its a pretty good router. 

this is not a post trying to opinions on why vista sucks or why its great....i happen to like vista, but right now im running xp.  so the benefit here would be that i could get the router i want, and vista for less money.  ive looked up some stuff on google about this deal and some people are reporting that the bonus pack codes dont work unless you are a system builder.  well i built my pc from parts off of newegg, so i guess i could be classified as a system builder so the bonus thing should work for me.  anyway....bottom line....do you think this deal is worth it? 

vista ultimate = $169.99
dlink router = $20 after tax and shipping and rebate from the bonus pack deal
plus extra stuff listed on the link.

so i would be getting vista and a router for around $200 which is a decent deal dont you think?

[shmokes]

Why would you want to pay to upgrade to Vista?  Is there some Vista feature that's actually worth $200 to you?  I can hardly imagine that to be true.  Spend your money on something worthwhile and know that you will have Vista automatically the next time you buy a computer.  XP is an excellent operating system.  No reason to jump the gun on Vista.

[boykster]

I like Vista, and Ultimate is the version to get, but I think the best way to get it is to buy a new PC pre-loaded with it, or to build a fresh new box de-novo with all new components that are Vista certified.  SOOOOO many of the problems "vista bashers" have been having are hardware/software compatiblity related; bad or no drivers, devices not recognized or crippled, etc.  I built a new PC and installed Vista Ultimate and for the most part haven't had any problems.  I was even successful installing it on an laptop I have, but it was also "Vista upgrade certified" so no major issues there.

BUT -> there is a valid discount deal there, you'd be getting the router for a sweet discount, so its up to you.  That looks like a nice router and has gotten a ton of good reviews.

[hulkster]

I like Vista, and Ultimate is the version to get, but I think the best way to get it is to buy a new PC pre-loaded with it, or to build a fresh new box de-novo with all new components that are Vista certified.  SOOOOO many of the problems "vista bashers" have been having are hardware/software compatiblity related; bad or no drivers, devices not recognized or crippled, etc.  I built a new PC and installed Vista Ultimate and for the most part haven't had any problems.  I was even successful installing it on an laptop I have, but it was also "Vista upgrade certified" so no major issues there.

BUT -> there is a valid discount deal there, you'd be getting the router for a sweet discount, so its up to you.  That looks like a nice router and has gotten a ton of good reviews.

well i have installed vista ultimate already on this pc...it was a trial version...it actually was a trial version, not an illegal copy.....and i liked it.  i had one issue with my sound card, but i think that was because i installed the wrong driver package.  i have an old audigy sound card and i was able to get 2.1 sound, but not 5.1.  well as it turns out, i had to move my desk to a different room in the house, and as a result, dont have room for my 5.1 setup.  i planned on just getting some nice surround sound headphones anyway.  so since the sound problem solves itself, i dont have any issues with vista at this point and i like the OS very much.  very slick.  as for the comment about the "just buy your next pc with vista on it"....well i havent bought a pc since the 9th grade as ive built all of my pc's from new components.  i just built this pc a year ago, so its good for another 2 or 3 years with upgrades to extend its life. 

the point of this is that i wanted to get a router anyway, and if i get this deal....i get a router AND vista, for just around $40 more or so.  plus i have the ability to get the photo printer, and other stuff. 

boykster - would the dlink router be a decent upgrade to my Linksys WRT54G (no S or X or anything....just the standard router)??

[shmokes]

If you're already running a trial Vista and you want to keep it, that's another thing altogether.  For obvious reasons I assumed you were upgrading, which is just not worth the money, IMO.  Like I said, XP is an excellent OS.  The fact that people flocked to it upon release and people are extremely reluctant to move to Vista is a testament to how great an OS XP is.

[boykster]

boykster - would the dlink router be a decent upgrade to my Linksys WRT54G (no S or X or anything....just the standard router)??

I honestly can't say if you'd see a difference, but from what I've read, that dlink router is very well regarded.  Your WRT54G could definately be flashed to the DD-WRT firmware though, and that gives you a TON of tweakability and customization.  A "must do" IMHO if you're looking for control and performance.

I say if you really want that router, and you're sold on Vista (again, I LIKE Vista  ) then I say go for it.  Worst case, you sell the router on ebay and offset the cost of Vista a bit.